Thermodynamic Formalism Second Edition: The Mathematical Structures of Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics

Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications #5

by David Ruelle

Reissued in the Cambridge Mathematical Library, this classic book outlines the theory of thermodynamic formalism which was developed to describe the properties of certain physical systems consisting of a large number of subunits. Background material on physics has been collected in appendices to help the reader. Supplementary work is provided in the form of exercises and problems that were "open" at the original time of writing.

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

David Pierre Ruelle is a Belgian mathematical physicist, naturalized French. He has worked on statistical physics and dynamical systems. With Floris Takens, Ruelle coined the term strange attractor, and developed a new theory of turbulence.

Reviews

[The Architect]

Have fun with the definition of topological pressure given in the Introduction.

From D.G. Babbitt's Bulletin of the AMS review (Vol 1, Number 6, November 1979): "We must compare this impression with the statement of the editor in the general preface to this Encyclopedia. It states: "Clarity of exposition, *accessibility to the nonspecialist* (italics added), and a thorough bibliography are required of each author." If a person can learn a subject for the first time by reading Bourbaki, then perhaps that person can learn the statistical mechanics of lattice systems by reading this book."